WASHINGTON – Commercial hatcheries set 189 million eggs in incubators during the week ending Sept. 1, 2012, up slightly from the eggs set during the comparable year-ago period, according to the US Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 84 percent.

Broiler growers placed 160 million chicks for meat production during the week ending Sept. 1, a decline of 1 percent. Cumulative placements from Jan. 1, 2012, through Sept. 1 eased 3 percent to 5.74 billion compared to the year-ago period, NASS said.